I'd just like to add a small tidbit that it is more than likely the cop did not realize what he was doing.

As it has been stated, even highly trained individuals can fail routine tasks in their areas of expertise in stressful situations.

Now, if you are talking "local cop", it is a reasonable assumption that he has probably never fired his taser beyond initial training, and most cops don't even fire their sidearm *ever* beyond once or twice a year to maintain qualification.

I've met PD who's bullets have corroded from being left in a magazine for half a year.

If this had occurred during a raid being performed by SWAT or other specialized weapons troopers, I would be inclined towards a more weighty charge.

This is not even a case of "local cop" this is a case of an officer of the Bay Area Rapid Transit authority. Granted, they are a fully formed and sworn police organization, that has had exactly one officer involved shooting in it's history and two shootings of passengers by passengers.

In short, it's likely that the only time a BART Police officer pulls his gun and fires is at the range, for practice and re-certification. Also, the model of Taser used by the BART police is the M26, which weighs in about the same as the service weapon and looks very much like a semi-automatic pistol. Combine this with the fact that the BART cops had recently taken training on the Taser (I seem to recall that BART PD had received the weapons 6 weeks prior to January 1, 2009), it is entirely conceivable that an officer who had recently taken training on the Taser and had been carrying it where he normally carries his service weapon may have mistaken his service weapon for the Taser.

I am not one to be a police apologist. I have known a lot of cops over the years and I have known more than a few that should never have been issued a badge, much less a gun.

Finally, I suspect wholly that the defense in this case saw the verdict coming a mile off. That would explain why during the preliminary portions of the trial, the defense wanted to exclude jury instructions for "lesser included offenses" and have the jury instructions limited to a guilty verdict on murder in the second degree or acquittal as the only choices._________________The two most abuntant elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity - Harlan Ellison

A few interesting points, like the question of the gun enhancement being reconciled with involuntary manslaughter, but it does illustrate rather well all the ways he could get from 14yrs, parole in 12 down to 2, parole in 1, or even just probation, no jail time (yeah, it's a possibility - wouldn't that be a great message?)_________________“Yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation”
yields falsehood when preceded by its quotation.